Charges dropped in fatal crash in wake of cop's arrest

Charges against a high school teacher accused of killing a woman while driving drunk were dismissed this week — a month after a police officer was indicted and declared he would no longer help prosecute the dozens of suspected drunken drivers he arrested.

Christopher Purcell, a longtime Iroquois High School teacher, was arrested in August 2012 by Louisville Metro Police Officer Christopher Thurman.

Thurman, 37, specialized in DUI enforcement but was indicted last month on accusations that he bilked taxpayers for more than $10,000 in phony overtime pay. He is charged with official misconduct and theft by deception, facing the possibility of a decade in prison.

His attorney told the county attorney and the commonwealth's attorney that Thurman will assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to testify in more than 100 pending criminal cases he investigated. Most are misdemeanors, prosecuted by the county attorney. But several, including the case against Purcell, include felony murder and manslaughter charges.

The drunken driving and manslaughter charges against Purcell relied on Thurman's word, said Leland Hulbert, a spokesman for the commonwealth attorney's office. Purcell's blood-alcohol content level wasn't far above the legal line, and the case hinged on Thurman's testimony about how the suspect performed on field-sobriety tests.

Prosecutors decided to dismiss the charges earlier this week in what Hulbert said was a frustrating decision for prosecutors and the family of the woman killed.

"There's not a lot we can tell the victim's family," he said. "They feel like the system cheated them, the system failed them. And there's not a lot of comfort we can give them."

Purcell was allegedly driving drunk in August 2012, when he crashed into a motorcycle near Strathmoor Boulevard and Bardstown Road.

Tracey Blevins, 31, died at the scene.

Thurman is accused of stealing more than $10,000 he did not earn between January 2011 and September 2013. He had pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors are evaluating his other cases to determine whether they can pursue them without his cooperation.

Reporter Claire Galofaro can be reached at (502) 582-7086. Follow her on Twitter at @clairegalofaro.